Sail, Pipavav To Fund Rly Projects

The railway ministry has launched two separate projects on a cost-sharing basis with the Gujarat Pipavav Port and the Steel Authority of India.

This is a new trend being encouraged by the railways. It has also roped in the state governments of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu for metropolitan transport projects in Mumbai and Chennai.

The Gujarat Pipavav Port has agreed to partly fund the Surendranagar-Bhavnagar-Dhola-Dhasa-Mahuva line that will be extended to the port. The modalities of funding are to be sorted out soon.

The railways have also taken up the Rs 369-crore Dalirajahara-Jagdalpur line project in collaboration with the ministry of steel and the Madhya Pradesh government. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the three parties and the final location survey is in progress.

The ministry of steel will bear the cost of the first phase connecting Dallirajahara to Rowghat in Madhya Pradesh as the line will be used to transport iron ore to the Bhillai plant of the Steel Authority of India.

The steel ministry will also contribute Rs 75 crore for the remaining part of the project. However, this investment will be adjusted as freight concessions that the railways have agreed to extend to SAIL. On its part, the Madhya Pradesh government has offered land worth Rs 25 crore free of cost.

The clearance required for the Rs 337-crore Surendranagar-Bhavnagar-Pipavav line in Gujarat has already been obtained, Rail Bhavan sources said. The capital base and mode of financing are being structured by the Indian Railway Construction Co Ltd.

The railway ministry has also begun floating tenders for the works at the project site. The line will connect parts of Saurashtra which do not have a proper rail network besides moving goods in and out the Pipavav port. The project, however, involves not just connecting the port with other parts of Saurashtra but also setting up sidings on the port premises, sources said.

The railway ministry and the Pipavav port authorities are currently discussing the freight rates on goods carried to the Pipavav port.

The port handles both bulk cargo and containers and its capacity is being increased, the sources said.